Phone Calls

The Limestone County Central Office has had several calls that the messages that were sent recently were blank. School personnel checked the website and looked at the calls details with the representative. There doesn't seem to be any issues with the calls. School and company officials developed one theory as to why people are having issues with the phone calls.


The system is very sensitive to noises giving it the ability to leave a message on an answering machine/cell phone message. When it hears an extended amount of noise, it waits until the noise ends to begin the message. It thinks the noise is the message on an answering machine. This could be happening to the people that receive a phone call and do not hear a message. We are assuming there is enough background noise (children, TV, at a ballgame, wind, radio, etc.) that the system is mistaking it for a recorded message and it is waiting for silence.

To solve this problem, a person needs only to press 1. This will make the recording play in its entirety.  

Tornadoes and Schools

I am old enough to remember the tornado outbreak in 1974 which changed many people’s lives, including mine, forever. I was a young boy, but can remember it like it was yesterday and for years since then when I hear about a tornado warning I take it very seriously. I have been in public schools for over 25 years and have been in many hallways during a tornado drill. Thankfully, I have never been in a school that has been hit by a tornado, but we have come close a few times.

Everyone in this area can remember April 27, 2011 when we had a horrible outbreak of tornadoes in this area. Our area was devastated and school was out for over a week. The tornadoes did not behave exactly as predicted and we were at school for a large portion of the day. We spent time in the hallways for protection and waiting on parents who were unable to get to the school due to debris in the road. Thankfully everyone at Ardmore was safe and the school was not hit. East Limestone High School and Creekside Elementary School were very close to the path of the tornado but thankfully no students were injured.

There are times in North Alabama when things happen so quickly we are at school when a tornado warning is issued and we will always take our precautions to try and protect the students on our campus. We practice these drills every month and due to the frequency of tornadoes in our area I believe the students take the drills seriously. Obviously, the best answer would be safe shelters for every school, but money has not allowed the state to build shelters on each campus. Maybe one day this will become a reality, but for now the current plans are the best we can do to provide safety at school during a storm.

The weather forecasting is much better than it was in 1974 and many times we know days in advance of the severe weather event and school systems can take precautions to ensure students are not on campus during severe weather. However, April 27 proved that things don’t always go as predicted in terms of severe weather in North Alabama.  I know people will debate forever whether schools should dismiss due to the threat of bad weather, but in my opinion we should always error on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of our children. 

Hunter's Highlights

QR Codes

QR codes are posted at various spots throughout the school. I am conducting a little experiment to see if anyone is paying attention to them. The first ten students to say anything to Mr. Hunter about the QR codes will receive a coupon for a free ice cream in the cafeteria.

Bring Your Own Device Alert Now Message

Hello, this is Tommy Hunter, principal at Ardmore High School. In preparation for the Bring Your Own Device Initiative students will be allowed o used devices before school, during lunchtime, and between classes beginning Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Once again devices will be allowed during non-instructional times beginning Tuesday, March 11, 2014. 

BYOD Getting Closer

Hunter's Highlights